Ginobili gets bad news — and a good way out

San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili dunks over Miami Heat's Chris Bosh in the second quarter of Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals at the AT&T Center on Sunday, June 15, 2014. (Kin Man Hui/San Antonio Express-News)

The MRI showed the break. The stress fracture in the lower right fibula was undeniable, and the timetable for recovery was just as clear.

Manu Ginobili, by any measure, would be taking a risk if he tried to play for his national team this summer.

But the Argentine team doctor saw “a path to recovery,” and the country's fan base was as optimistic. Wouldn't the best basketball player in Argentina's history be there for them again?

That's why the Spurs' decision to send Ginobili a letter to tell him he did not have permission to play for Argentina was a cold, sad communication — and might have been a birthday gift.

Ginobili turned 37 on Monday, but he isn't the only one feeling older. Gregg Popovich has been using a cane.

Those within the franchise say he was in real pain through the playoffs. A deteriorating hip made sleep as difficult as walking.

Three days after the river parade, he underwent surgery. Since then, Popovich has gone from a walker to a cane, and his recovery is symbolic of a franchise that needs rehab if it wants to repeat as champs for the first time.

He's also symbolic of those who were key contributors. If Popovich's hip was hurting, his mind wasn't, and Patty Mills, his right shoulder currently in a sling, never played better.

Then there's Ginobili. The dunk over Chris Bosh was impressive in itself. Knowing he did it with a broken leg makes it legendary.

But that play also conceals how Ginobili's game changed this past postseason. While he made a hero play against Bosh, he mostly played within himself. He picked his spots, and credit goes, in part, to Popovich.

He'd battled this side of Ginobili for years, and eventually he gave in. He let Manu be Manu. Only in this past postseason, surrounded with a depth of talent, Ginobili led without always being out front.

Popovich was equally ineffective convincing Ginobili that his national play was affecting his NBA career. To Ginobili, his allegiance to friends such as Luis Scola was non-negotiable.

As one in the franchise said last week, this has been Ginobili's “blind spot.”

Popovich fought it. But he also realized that the same fury that dunked on Bosh is the same fury that has driven Argentina. Popovich accepted one side to get the other, just as he accepted his style of play.

For a team paying his salary, this took some acceptance, especially in 2008, when Ginobili went to the Beijing Olympics with an existing ankle injury. Popovich let Ginobili know he didn't want him to play, and Ginobili eventually collapsed in China, and an operation was required.

Popovich's reaction: He met Ginobili at the San Antonio airport to let him know he was still by his side.

According to those in the franchise, Popovich has gone through the same debate with Ginobili since the end of this season. And maybe, just as Popovich got Ginobili to tweak his game last season, he got him to see what he was risking.

If he were healthy, that would be one thing. But with an injury, and at 37, did it make any sense to risk perhaps his last year and Tim Duncan's?

Kawhi Leonard offers the opposite. He is neither hurt nor old, yet he passed on a USA Basketball invitation because of the wear of the championship run.

If the Spurs were willing to live with Ginobili's international passion before, they aren't now. Their recent letter outlines their contractual rights under an NBA/FIBA agreement, and this could cause a rift. One within the Spurs franchise joked that Ginobili might ignore them and still play.

But maybe that narrative is the one the Spurs want out there. Maybe, given the intense pressure Ginobili feels in Argentina to play the World Cup, the Spurs are willing to play the bad guy. After all, earlier this month, Ginobili told reporters in Argentina that his right leg did not hurt and that he was “optimistic.” But he also showed concern, as if Popovich's message had gotten through. “I have doubts," he admitted. "I have fears."

Now all of that has been removed, along with any criticism toward Ginobili, and a logical path is in place for the end of his career. Because of a letter.